HAMBURG: European wheat futures fell on Monday to touch a two-month low, pressured by improving global supply prospects and strength in the euro, before trimming losses as Chicago futures rose and a chart floor in Paris held. March milling wheat, the most active contract on the Paris-based Euronext exchange, was down 1.0 euro, or 0.5%, at 201.00 euros ($244.0) a tonne at 1721 GMT.
It earlier slid to 199.00 euros, its weakest level since Oct. 9, as it extended a recent slide into a seventh consecutive session. But the contract found support at the psychological 200-euro threshold and then later from a slight recovery in Chicago wheat following a two-month low.
"Bearish factors for wheat have multiplied in the past week," consultancy Agritel said, citing forecasts of bumper Australian and Canadian harvests, a proposal to expand a Russian export quota and a surge in the euro against the dollar.
"The main supportive element for now is the fragile state of crops in the Black Sea region," it added.
Traders were also awaiting the French farm ministry's first estimate of cereal sowing on Tuesday to see if market expectations of a sharp rebound in the soft wheat area are confirmed. In Poland, prices dropped in the past week due to lower international markets and slow domestic demand.
"Exports are still booming but exporters lowered prices and internal logistics are getting more difficult," one Polish trader said. Exporter purchase prices for 12.5% protein wheat fell by 25 zloty on the week to about 905 zloty (202.6 euros) a tonne for December delivery to ports.
"The high volume of wheat exports being shipped from Poland is making land logistics to ports difficult," the trader said. "There is a shortage of trucks, which are queuing in the ports instead of delivering grains and a lack of silo space in the ports."
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